Medical marijuana crackdown prompts lawsuits

Rep. Bilbray’s daughter, a cancer survivor, is one of the plaintiffs

San Diego medical marijuana advocates joined a series of lawsuits Monday seeking an immediate stop to the federal government’s statewide efforts to close dispensaries.

A coalition of patients, storefront collectives and their landlords began to file lawsuits Friday in all four federal judicial districts in California — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego — where U.S. attorneys have set various deadlines for dispensaries to shut down or risk criminal prosecution and forfeiture of their properties.

Briana Bilbray, the 25-year-old daughter of Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-San Diego, is among the plaintiffs in the suit filed in U.S. District Court in San Diego that, among other claims, accuses the Department of Justice of entrapping marijuana providers by reversing its own policy.

That lawsuit names as defendants U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Drug Enforcement Administration head Michele Leonhart and U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy of San Diego.

Briana Bilbray said she used medical cannabis after being diagnosed with Stage III melanoma. She said patients were being unfairly punished by having access to their medication cut off and added that federal prosecutors were infringing on their rights as Californians.

“I am convinced completely that it works,” she said, contrasting her personal experiences with federal statements questioning the medicinal value of marijuana. “I really want to know how many people they talked to that have had chemo. … I feel like people are listening now. People are paying attention.”

Asked about his daughter’s involvement, Bilbray issued the following statement: “Karen and I raised our children to be strong individuals who think for themselves. I respect my daughter’s right to fight for what she believes in based on her personal experiences. We may not agree with our children on every issue, but Karen and I are very proud parents.”

Bilbray’s son, Imperial Beach City Councilman Brian Patrick Bilbray, recently cast the lone dissenting vote against a citywide ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, saying he supports marijuana access for patients but also was concerned about legal repercussions for the community.

The Justice Department and Duffy’s office declined to comment on the lawsuits Monday.

Other local plaintiffs in the 13-page lawsuit are Joy Greenfield, Light The Way, American Treatment Advancement Cooperative and Mother Earth’s Alternative Healing Cooperative, the first and only legally permitted dispensary in the region. An attorney for the El Cajon-based co-op referred questions about the case to P.J. Johnston, a San Francisco consultant speaking on behalf of the plaintiffs statewide.

Johnston said the lawsuit called on the courts to put an immediate stop to the crackdown, citing an agreement between federal prosecutors and a medical marijuana collective in Santa Cruz.

There, collective patients agreed to allow a federal judge to dismiss their case against the government after the Justice Department said it would not use federal resources against medical marijuana patients who complied with state law.

“The conduct of the government officials and their statement led the nation to believe that the government had changed its policy in 2009, ensuring that those who comply with state medical cannabis laws would not be subject to federal prosecution,” the lawsuit states.